RELATED VIDEO

RELATED COMPANIES

x

Loading data...

ChartsValuation & Peer ComparisonCommunity Buzz

Close ✕

MUMBAI: Tata Motors has hired former Airbus Chief Operating Officer Gunter Butschek as its managing director and chief executive of local operations, filling up positions left vacant after the death of Karl Slym in January 2014.

The 55-year-old German will take charge at Tata Motors on February 15, the nation's top automobile manufacturer by revenue said in a filing with stock exchanges. He will be responsible for only the Indian operations, with the company's London-based Jaguar Land Rover unit continuing to be managed by CEO Ralf Speth.

Butschek, who resigned from Airbus in December 2014, has had a series of negotiations with Tata Motors over the past year or so, people in the know said. He spent almost four years at Airbus out of which about two and half years as the aircraft maker's chief operating officer.

He has more than 25 years of experience in the automotive industry, all at Stuttgart based luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz.

The appointment of Butschek happens at a time when the domestic operations of Tata Motors are gradually turning a corner. While it is losing market share on the commercial vehicle front, the company has grown its medium and heavy truck volumes by 22%. In the passenger vehicle space, Tata Motors has posted cumulative growth of 5% lower than the industry growth of 9% April-December 2015, which though is a much better performance when compared with the past few years.

With more than Rs 3,500 crore to Rs 4,000 crore of investment planned per annum, the product pipeline is well in place for the company to attempt a turnaround in operations.